PRESS RELEASE: FOR SUNDAY 12TH MAY. POSTED ON BEHALF OF THE ORGANISERS
What? Hundreds of people have been invited to take part in a protest about the devastating disease M.E: ‘ALL FALL DOWN FOR M.E.’
At 3pm we will all collapse & lie on the ground, silent & still, for 2 minutes, to represent the brain/body collapse & pain our children and loved ones have to suffer day in day out, year in year out with no end in sight.
This is not a life. It is a living death.
When? 2.30 for 3pm Sunday 12th May
Where? Old Palace Yard, opposite the Houses of Parliament, SW1P
Why? For the most misunderstood illness of our times, to raise awareness that:
• M.E. can be very severe & long-lasting, often life-long
• It can strike healthy, happy individuals, particularly our children & young people, out of the blue
• It is a real, physical illness
• Patients & their families suffer disbelief, neglect & sometimes abuse from medical, education & welfare personnel
• We need FAR more biomedical research to discover cause(s), effective treatments & hopefully a cure, before it’s too late.
Who? Parents of children with M.E, family & friends, from me-alivingdeath.org.uk. (Many people with M.E. are too ill to protest.)
At least ¼ million children & adults in the UK have M.E. 17 million worldwide from all social & ethnic backgrounds. 25% largely housebound or bedbound; some near paralysed & tube fed, too weak to chew or swallow. People struck down in the prime of their lives, rendered unable to study, work, socialise or achieve even simple tasks.
M.E.(Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, meaning muscle pain with brain & spinal cord inflammation; also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) causes symptoms such as debilitating exhaustion & weakness that does not go away with rest or sleep & gets worse after minor mental or physical activity; widespread muscle & joint pain plus severe headaches, all unresponsive to painkillers; faintness; difficulty concentrating & retaining information with short term memory loss; and many more.
Biomedical research worldwide has shown many abnormalities. Prof. Julia Newton, Newcastle Uni, 2011:
“The abnormalities that we’re finding couldn’t possibly be faked. They are absolutely real abnormalities of quite dramatic accumulation of acid [in people’s muscles], and problems with the way people’s hearts work and the way their brains work.”
Photos & film footage will be available after the event.
Further info including map & links please see www.me-alivingdeath.org.uk
Supported by The ME Association, Action for M.E. & other M.E. charities
I am so glad there is a protest planned! Thank you so much to the organizers! We need more protests, health allowing, which of course is the big problem.